BALTIMORE — "My dad was the first person that introduced me to art. He tells the story of you know, I was really active when I was younger. And what could I do. Or what activity could he watch me do that I wouldn't hurt myself. He literally sat me down and gave me a pencil and paper, and I actually was good at it."
Megan Lewis knew by the young age of six that she wanted to be an artist.
"I make mirrors. I do furniture. I paint. I do everything...I love color," Lewis said.
You've probably seen Lewis' work and didn't realize it, while her studio on West Baltimore Street is filled with bright colorful paintings...it's the city of Baltimore that's her biggest canvas.
"You literally walk outside and see my work," she said. "Can you imagine wanting to be an artist since I was six and the first mural I've done is inside the Blacks and Wax Museum, I used to go to Shake and Bake all the time when I was little, to have a mural there. It's like what, I can't believe it."
One of Lewis' first murals was the black statue of liberty at Baker and McKean.
She was 26 at the time, with each piece of artwork, the Ringling College of Art and Design grad says she's evolving her work at the metro station is proof of that.
She's 33 with 15 murals, several paintings and a "Doritos" bag in her portfolio.
"So, Doritos connected with me in 2020. they were doing murals in certain cities and Baltimore was one of the locations and I did a protect black women mural. And they texted me. I got a text from Doritos, and they said you know we have this opportunity for you. When can we connect with you and when are you available to talk more about it and it was to design a Doritos bag?”
Her "bag" just one of the many opportunities afforded to this bright young artist, she's also done things for Target, Dick's Sporting Goods and HBO to name a few.
The wings she designed at Camden Yards will have you having flying high at an Orioles game. But it's her artwork in city schools, that's moved her the most.
"I have to make sure the quality of my images, the skin, especially black women is tops here. Because I've done murals in school, so like I said, making sure the hair is right, the skin tone, making sure these young black girls have these images that they can look up to right...I didn't see that. Like imagine going to a school right and seeing this beautiful drawing of yourself....I didn't see that in school," she explained.
During the pandemic, Lewis did a lot of painting when mural opportunities dried up.
While she loves painting on canvas and is good at it, she admits the magic that comes from a mural is a work of art that she's always excited to share with Baltimore.
"They're the same as painting as anything. It's just that the people who view them are in the community right. So, it's larger, it's more impactful and once again it gets into your subconscious whether you know it or not. You just have to be very careful because art is very, very powerful."
